…a boomer muses about life, change, joys, sorrows and freedom from the prison of corporate life.

Moles…and More

If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, then you’re well aware of My War With The Mole. If you’re new here, welcome! Let me just say that this summer I have been having a battle of wits with a persistent and unbelievably annoying mole who haunts my yard and that of my neighbor, Marcia. I am determined to keep him from destroying my yard, while his goal in life is to create sort of a “mole Disneyland” of tunnels, mounds and mud.

My latest counterattack of a month ago seemed to have discouraged him, or so I thought. Then yesterday, as I was walking back from the mailbox, I noticed that he had established a “trial tunnel” on the little patch of grass right in front of my porch. The nerve of this guy! Anyway, I pushed it down with my feet and stomped on it a bit and figured that was that. Imagine my fury, when only an hour later I looked out again and saw that the tunnel was back! Now this was a new one! Usually when I destroy a tunnel, he doesn’t try in that area again. But then, that is when I use my trusty rubber mallet to pound it down. Of course! I grabbed the mallet, stooped down by the tunnel and started pounding it like there was no tomorrow! I wouldn’t be surprised if people down in China didn’t feel little pieces of dirt dropping on their heads, due to the violence of my pounding! This time it stayed pounded and I think he got the message: GO ELSEWHERE!

So today I went out to water my hanging plant, and what did I see in Marcia’s yard? This.

And these tunnels were just some of many. I kind of felt guilty. It’s like he had a temper tantrum in her yard! Just to give you an idea of why I’ve become so manic in pounding down the tunnels in my yard, let me show you a close up of one in Marcia’s. See how BIG these things are? And once he’s done that, no grass grows there again, unless you plant some more.

But, you know what? I’m not going to feel guilty. So far, I’ve managed to keep this damned mole from destroying my yard, but I can’t fight the battle for everybody. Maybe if Marcia’s yard becomes a big enough mud pit, she’ll go out and buy herself a rubber mallet!

The “more” in this title refers to a critter other than a mole. One of the main streets through a shopping district near me, Barry Road, is undergoing a lot of construction work. Once you get on, you’re subject to two lanes becoming one and lots of delays. I was sitting at a stoplight there when my eye caught movement in front of the car in front of me. At first, I thought it was a rat, but then realized it was a baby opossum!

Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me, but he looked a lot like this. What was really fascinating to me is that this baby opossum wasn’t “dashing” across the street like you’d think. No, he was walking very sedately, like a little kindergartener who had been taught to cross with the light. Here he was, completely unaware that the eyes of maybe 20 drivers were fixed on him in amazement. And then, when he got to the other side of the road, he didn’t run and hide. No, he slowly started to investigate huge hunks of concrete the workmen had pushed to the side! When the light turned green, we all reluctantly started to go. But I would have liked to track his progress. With his attitude, I wouldn’t have been surprised if his next stop wasn’t McDonalds!